A prismatic joint is a one- degree-of-freedom

kinematic pair In classical mechanics, a kinematic pair is a connection between two physical objects that imposes constraints on their relative movement (kinematics). German engineer Franz Reuleaux introduced the kinematic pair as a new approach to the stud ...

which constrains the motion of two bodies to sliding along a common axis, without

rotation Rotation or rotational/rotary motion is the circular movement of an object around a central line, known as an ''axis of rotation''. A plane figure can rotate in either a clockwise or counterclockwise sense around a perpendicular axis intersect ...

; for this reason it is often called a slider (as in the slider-crank linkage) or a sliding pair. They are often utilized in hydraulic and

pneumatic cylinder Pneumatic cylinder, also known as air cylinder, is a mechanical device which uses the power of compressed gas to produce a force in a reciprocating linear motion. Like in a hydraulic cylinder, something forces a piston to move in the desired ...

s. A prismatic joint can be formed with a

polygonal In geometry, a polygon () is a plane (mathematics), plane Shape, figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain. The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its ''edge (geometry), edges'' or ''sides''. The p ...

cross-section to resist rotation. Examples of this include the dovetail joint and linear bearings.

References

Kinematics Rigid bodies {{classicalmechanics-stub

See also

References